Johann Sebastian Bach, composer

Born: March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany

Died: July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany

Studied: with his father, Johan Ambrosius, who taught him the violin and trumpet, and with Johann Pachelbel

Assignments: 1700: chorister at the Michaelis monastery in Lüneberg; 1703-07: organist at the Neuekirche in Arnstadt; 1708: court organist and orchestra leader for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar; 1717: Kapellmeister at Cothen; 1723: Kantor at the Thomas School in Leipzig

Best known for: The Well-tempered Clavier, a collection of 48 fugues and preludes which essentially standardized the practice of equally tempering keyboard instruments; also widely known for his works for unaccompanied violin and cello, his concerti, cantatas, and oratorios, among others

Notable compositions: Well-tempered Clavier, 1722; Easter Oratorio, 1725; St. Matthew Passion, 1727; Christmas Oratorio, 1734-35; Jesu, meine Freude, 1735; Mass in B Minor, 1748-49

Quote: The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. — J.S. Bach

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David Lang, composer

Born: January 8, 1957 in Los Angeles, CA

Education: received a BA with Honors from Stanford University, MM from University of Iowa, and MMA and DMA from Yale University School of Music; studied with Donald Jenni, Richard Hervig, Jacob Druckman, Hans Werner Henze, and Martin Bresnick

Teaching Positions: Currently serving on the composition faculty at the Yale School of Music; also currently Distinguished Visiting Professor of Composition and Composer in Residence at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Awards and Honors: Pulitzer Prize in Music for the little match girl passion, 2008; Bessie Award for The Most Dangerous Room in the House, 1999; Village Voice OBIE Award for Best New American Work for The Carbon Copy Building, 2000; Rome Prize; BMW Music-Theater Prize (Munich); grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, American Academy of Arts and Letters

Co-Founded: Bang on a Can in 1987 with Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, which is dedicated to commissioning, performing, creating, presenting and recording contemporary music

Recent Works: The Passing Measures, Writing on Water, Shelter, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Grind to a Halt, Loud Love Songs

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James Newton, composer

Born: May 1, 1953 in Los Angeles, CA

Positions: Professor of Ethnomusicology with a compositional emphasis at UCLA since 2008; has also held professorships at University of California at Irvine, California Institute of the Arts and Cal State University Los Angeles; Music Director of Luckman Jazz Orchestra 2001-2006

Known for: being a composer, flutist and conductor; compositions and performances include chamber, symphonic, and electronic music genres, compositions for ballet and modern dance, and numerous jazz and world music performances

Awards, fellowships and grants: received an honorary doctorate from California Institute of the Arts, Cal State LA Distinguished Alumnus Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, Montreaux Grande Prix du Disque, Downbeat International Critics Jazz Album of the Year, Downbeat International Critic’s Poll Top Flutist for 23 consecutive years

Performed with and composed for: Mingus Dynasty, Buddy Collette, New York Philharmonic, Anthony Davis, David Murray, Aurèle Nicolet, Donald McKayle, Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi, Sir Roland Hanna, Jose Limon Dance Company, Bennie Maupin, Cecil Taylor, John Carter, Andrew Cyrille, Wu Man, Red Callender, Southwest Chamber Music, Bobby Hutcherson, Dino Saluzzi, Zakir Hussain, San Francisco Ballet, Jon Jang, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Frank Wess, LA Philharmonic New Music Group

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